Pope Leo calls for global leaders to choose peace in his first Easter Mass

Pope Leo XIV waves from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica

by Jessica Rawnsley for the BBC

5 April 2026

Thousands of worshippers flocked to St Peter’s Square on Sunday to hear Pope Leo XIV deliver his first Easter Mass address as pontiff.

Framed by white roses on the central balcony of the Vatican’s basilica, the pope called on “those who have the power to unleash wars” to choose peace.

“On this day of celebration, let us abandon every desire for conflict, domination and power, and implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars,” he said.

The first US-born pope has become a vocal critic of the Iran war, and has used recent public addresses to denounce global conflicts and urge de-escalation.

Pope Leo waved to the crowd gathered in the square below before delivering his “Urbi et Orbi” blessing – Latin for “to the city and the world”.

St Peter’s Square was decorated with bright spring blooms, with rows of daffodils and thousands of purple, red and white flowers arranged for the Easter Mass.

“We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent, indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people,” the pope said in his address.

“Let those who have weapons lay them down. Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace.”

In a break with recent tradition, Leo did not explicitly name any country or conflict in his message.

He paid tribute to his predecessor, Pope Francis, who gave his final address on Easter Sunday last year, hours before his death.

Referring to the Easter story of Christ’s resurrection, three days after he was nailed to the cross, he said Jesus had been “entirely nonviolent” in the face of suffering.

For Christians, Easter is the most important date in the liturgical calendar, marking the resurrection of Christ – a central tenet of the faith.

Swiss guards line up, wearing their traditional, colourful uniforms and helmets with red feather plumes

As bells rang out across the Vatican and the crowd applauded, Leo concluded his blessing by offering Easter greetings in several languages, including Latin, Arabic and Chinese.

The pope also announced that he would return to the basilica on 11 April to lead a prayer vigil for peace.

Leo has repeatedly denounced ongoing global conflicts in recent weeks, using a series of Holy Week addresses to warn against what he has described as a growing indifference to war and suffering.

In his sermon during Saturday night’s Easter vigil, the pontiff urged believers not to feel numbed by the scale of global conflicts but to work actively for reconciliation.

He made a rare direct appeal to Donald Trump on Tuesday, urging the US President to find an “off-ramp” to end the conflict with Iran.

Pope Leo speaks into a microphone with one hand raised in a blessing gesture

Moderator preaches at St Andrew’s Scots Memorial Church in Jerusalem on Easter Sunday

Although she could not be there in person, Rt Rev Rosie Frew preached at St Andrew’s Scots Memorial Church in Jerusalem on Easter Sunday via an online link.

St Andrew’s Scots Memorial Church in Jerusalem.

Following the cancellation of her planned Easter visit to the Holy Land, Mrs Frew has written to Christian leaders in Palestine and Israel to assure the Christian community that they are in the thoughts and prayers of the Kirk.

Mrs Frew was scheduled to travel to the region at the end of March to celebrate and show solidarity with the Christian community of Palestine and Israel and meet the leaders of the Episcopal, Lutheran, and Latin Catholic Churches, as well as participate in the Easter Celebrations. The visit would also have seen her meet local partners of the Church of Scotland, such as the Tent of Nations environmental and educational farm near Bethlehem, and Rabbis for Human Rights.

The visit was cancelled following the US and Israeli attacks on Iran and the retaliation that followed, and the Moderator has written to the church leaders she hoped to meet in person to express her sorrow at being unable to visit and the concerns which the Church of Scotland shares for the people of the Holy Land.

The opportunity to preach at an Easter service in the city which witnessed the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus was to have been one of the highlights of the visit, but Mrs Frew still plans to join the congregation of St Andrew’s online to confirm her commitment and solidary with the region’s Christian community, and is encouraging people to share in this message by joining the service themselves.

She has also expressed the Church of Scotland’s support for the Christians of the Holy Land and her disappointment at not being able to visit in her letter to local church leaders.

Mrs Frew writes:

His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land

The Most Reverend Hosam E. Naoum, Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem & Primate of the Province of Jerusalem & the Middle East

His Eminence Doctor Imad Haddad, 5th Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

Your Beatitude, Your Excellencies,

Greetings in the name of Christ in this Holy Week as we walk towards the cross and beyond to the resurrection.

I am deeply sorry that my proposed visit to Jerusalem and the Holy Land this Holy Week has had to be cancelled.

It was a visit that my pilgrimage group had been greatly looking forward to making.

I am aware from first-hand reports how much this war is impacting communities throughout Palestine and Israel, alongside the devastation that it is causing in Iran and the Gulf States. I also understand the deep distress that your Beatitude has experienced at being blocked from worshipping with the Custos in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday, and I hope there will be free access for you and other worshippers in the days to come.

I had very much looked forward to sharing in the Holy Week reflection and sorrow and joining together in the Easter resurrection celebrations with you and your communities, and sharing with you the love, prayers, and solidarity of the Church of Scotland.

As we go through this holy season, and as we give thanks for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the man from Nazareth whose life is imprinted on the very stones in which your people live out the Christian faith every day, I offer love and prayers from the whole Church of Scotland and me to you and your people.

I pray for a cessation of war; for a cessation of the violence being perpetrated in communities in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza; for the freedom and protection of the Christian community; and for peace with justice throughout Palestine and Israel. I also ask you to share with us how we can better support you and your people in their resurrection witness in this day and time.

Alongside our Christian family in Palestine and Israel, the Church of Scotland will also walk the via Dolorosa this Holy Week. We give thanks for your witness and pray that your churches will be allowed to open and the faithful may gather in unity with all those celebrating the glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday.

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

Yours sincerely,

Rt Rev Rosie Frew

Rt Rev Rosie Frew, Moderator of the General Assembly.

Mrs Frew also expressed her sadness that Cardinal Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, was denied entry to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by Israeli authorities on Palm Sunday.

As the recognised place of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is central to the faith of Christians worldwide. The refusal of access has been seen as unacceptable by Christians worldwide, leading many to question religious freedom within Israel and Palestine.

As the Latin Patriarchate said in its statement: “This hasty and fundamentally flawed decision, tainted by improper considerations, represents an extreme departure from basic principles of reasonableness, freedom of worship, and respect for the status quo.”

While there were clearly security considerations, the Cardinal’s visit had been pre-arranged and was for a very limited number of people.

Although Cardinal Pizzaballa and other church leaders are now free to visit the Holy places following the interjection of the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Moderator shares the sense of disappointment of many Christians that entry was denied at all.

‘Choose peace,’ Pope Leo implores world leaders in first Easter address

Heller Gonzalez Pena, St Augustine’s Episcopal Church, Dumbarton

The historic ruins of St Serf’s in Levengrove Park provided such a meaningful backdrop for our Good Friday gathering (Dumbarton Churches Together). It was wonderful to see such a great turnout despite the overcast skies.

If you were parked on Dumbarton High Street, take a note of the date. (In case you get a letter in the post for failing to act). Youngsters were seen following traffic wardens, then ripping off the parking fines and binning them once the wardens had moved on. The person who saw this happen is elderly and didn’t want to approach the wardens in case she was seen doing so by the kids who did it.

One comment

Billie says:

April 8, 2026 at 2:19 am

Wise words from Pope Leo and from religious leaders closer to home.

With all the horror of war people would do well to reflect on the Easter message.

Good to see their messages communicated in this journal.

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